END DxD
by GreekfanFT
Summary: The war against Alvarez Empire, Zeref and Acnologia was over. Well, for everyone but Natsu. Fairy Tail's firebreather created a spell so powerfull that created a black hole. Even worse, he got sucked in it, throwing him in a world where Devils, Angels, Fallen Angels and other species live in not-so-secret. How will he fare? With his gut guiding him, of course! 'Cause he 's Natsu!
1. Prologue

**CHAPTER 1: PROLOGUE**

He had, finally, done it.

The son of the Fire Dragon King, Igneel, had defeated the enemy of all creation on Earthland.

Natsu Dragneel, brother of Zeref Dragneel, while also known as E.N.D., had defeated Acnologia.

Though, he didn 't do it alone, of course.

Another six Dragon Slayers were with him inside the dimension, where Acnologia's human form was waiting for them.

Outside of it, every single wizard was fighting against his Dragon form.

Yet, they managed to pull off a Fairy Sphere spell on it, because nothing else worked, no matter how hard they faught.

At the same time, however, this was what the Dragon Slayers were waiting for.

With Natsu being the only one left with enough power and resolve to fight, while also having extremelly rough time against the Dragon King, the spell managed to do its work.

And that was to keep Acnologia still and unable to use any kind of power. His Dragon form was connected to his humain one, whether in another dimension or not.

So, the other six Dragon Slayers (Laxus Dreyer-Lightning, Rogue Cheney-Shadow, Sting Eucliffe-White/Holy and Shadow, Wendy Marvell-Sky, Gajeel Redfox-Iron and Shadow, Eric/Cobra-Poison) projected the last of their remaining power to Natsu, in a last ditch effort to give him the much needed boost to end the war right then and there.

It worked.

Seeing that his friends worked in tantem with all they had, Natsu powered through his fatigue and, with his flames burning brighter and hotter than ever before, created a Secret Art on the spot.

The spell's name being Dragon Slayer Secret Art-Hidden Fire Form: Crimson Lotus: Fire Dragon King Roaring Fist.

True to its name, a gigantic fist, the shape of a Dragon's, made up from Natsu's flames, fell upon a defiantly scowling Acnologia.

Its power was enough to completely vaporize the Black Dragon of the Apocalypse, in both dimensions.

Subconsciously, Natsu thought of how proud his foster father would for him and his friends, taking a great deal of satisfation at having taken his revenge for Igneel's death at the hands of the same man/Dragon/Dragon Slayer he had just killed.

There was one problem, though. And a big one at that.

While the war was over, Natsu's attack damaged the dimension.

Meaning that he, accidentally, created a black hole.

His fellow Dragon Slayers could only watch in shock and horror as the pinket was sucked in it, before it closed, follwed by themselves being transported back to Earthland and to their friends.

The explanation they had to give about Natsu's whereabouts when they were all reunited, was definetely a sad one.

**xXxLineBreakxXx**

Natsu opened his eyes, feeling extremelly tired, famished and dirty.

Lucy and Erza would kick his butt for the last one.

He almost chuckled at the thought.

With no strength to lift himself up, he could only look wherever his eyes landed upon.

Up, left and right.

Immediately, the sight was quite a weird one.

Apart from the tall and strange trees, that made the scenery around him feel creepy, the sky was a strange green colour, without clouds, sun or moon, which didn 't help matters at all.

"Where am I?" he wondered, not expecting an answer, since his nose would definetely 'tell' him if somebody was near. "What kind of forest is this?" he continued his self-rant, not being able to take his eyes off of what he could actually see.

His nose, suddenly, twitched and tiredly turned his head to his right. It wasn 't a person that he smelt, but an animal.

Thankfully, it was a small one that appeared from the dark shadows, which made him feel at ease. He was in no condition to even stand, let alone fight against a wild, and possibly strong, animal.

Lastly, it had a very familiar shape, even if its scent was strange, yet dinstictively feminine.

"Hello there, little kitty...!" he actually tried to sound inviting as he smiled. Instead, he came off as dead tired and ready to fall into a coma for the next dacade.

True to his words, it was a cat of normal size. Though, it could be considered a little creepy as well. Its eyes were golden, staring right into his own, and its fur was as black as the night istelf.

From what he could tell, the cat, that was slowly aproaching him, had high intelligence. There was curiosity, suspicion and aprehension in its gaze.

It made him curious. Yet, for some unknown reason, he found himself wanting to reassure the animal about its wellbeing.

"Don 't worry, little girl...I 'm in no condition to even lift up my finger..." he said tiredly, trying to actually form a fist, while also making the cat stop its advance and staring at him even more intently, as well as taking a defensive stance.

Natsu failed at his attempt to close his fingers and smiled bitterly, the cat watching his every move, which he could feel. "See...? No reason to be afraid of me..." he murmured and closed his eyes, turning his head to the sky.

The cat, for its part, visibly relaxed after hearing him. Even more so when he turned away and confirming his revious words.

What Natsu didn 't know was that, even out of magic power, he radiated enough heat for even himself to be comfortable.

So, in a dark, creepy forest, where the sun and moon never shown, it made sense that there would be some cold.

In other words, the cat was attracted to the heat. Which was pure luck, considering that it was really close to where the pinket 'landed'.

The animal felt, also, lucky because its 'personal heater' didn 't seem to mind its presence. In fact, it seemed that he welcomed it. Meaning that, he had experience with cats.

Natsu felt the cat sniffing his outstretched arm and smiled softly.

Unavoidably, his thought went to his life-long partner/surrogate son, Happy. He smiled bitterly, somehow knowing in his gut that he would never see his 'lil' buddy' again. Nor the rest of his friends, for that matter.

Without him noticing, but the cat most certainly did, a stray tear ran down his right cheek and splashed to the ground.

It was with that last thought that he fell asleep.

And it was because of that, that he never saw the puff of purple smoke that engulfed the black cat right at that moment.

Neither that out of it came a drop-dead gorgeous young girl, dressed in a black yukata, tied with a golden obi on her thin waist. She, also, sported twin black tails, that were long enough to come from under her yukata and reach her mid-back. The tips of the tails were moving slowly as her golden, cat-like eyes gazed on his face, curiosity still being the main sentiment in them, while also displaying an unusual seriousness as they were narrowed. That is, after she inspected the rest of his body, subconsciously licking her lips at his well-toned lean and muscular figure.

She allowed herself to speak her thoughts about him aloud, since he seemed to be in deep sleep.

"How the hell is it that you feel like a human, a Demon and a Dragon, all the exact amount...? And how did you end up in the Familiar Forest in this shape...?"

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Author's Notes**

**And that 's the prologue of the story I 've wanted to write since 2 whole years ago...**

**So, yeah. Natsu ends up in the DxD universe, after his fight with Acnologia.**

**For the record, the latter is dead, so don 't expect him to make an appearance.**

**This story is some years before DxD cannon. About the time Kuroka escaped the Devils chasing her, after she killed her master.**

**Meeting Kuroka first is, literally, something that I made up on the spot.**

**I don 't know if you 'll like it, but I really hope you do.**

**Please, don 't ask for specific pairings. I have my reasons for this request. Also, don 't ask for yaoi, because I 'm not into it.**

**That goes for genderbent too.**

**And OCs. I really don 't like OCs.**

**I 'll try to keep the characters as they are, while adding Natsu's craziness into the mix, which, hopefully, will make this story interesting for you.**

**Of course, due to that, there will be adjustments, but not to the extreme.**

**Also, I haven 't decided whether to make Natsu a Devil or not. So, an opinion from you would be appreciated. Not just 'make him a Devil' or something along this line. Like this: 'make him a Devil because I hate Issei and Natsu would be funnier to be in Rias' peerage.'**

**Keep in mind that Natsu is, as Kuroka pointed out helpfully, 100% human, 100% Demon, 100% Dragon. Meening that he CAN be in Rias' peerage if I choose to. However, if that 's to happen, Issei will have to be killed off by Raynare, or saved and stay a human. Whether the brunet will have more important role afterwards, or not, is certainly depended on this decision - make Natsu a Devil or not.**

**Lastly, don 't expect regular updates. Not because I 'm lazy. My job and personal life take 98% of my time. The other 2% is my free time and sleep. Which might become even less, considering that I 'm planning on going to an island for work from April to October. That means that I won 't have my PC with me, nor internet to post anything. Also, I don 't have the patience to do that on my phone, so there 'll be six months without posting anything right off the bat. Only before and after, whenever I 'm capable of writing.**

**For those who don 't know, I 'm Greek, so expect some grammar and spelling mistakes down the road.**

**That 's it from me, for now.**

**Read, review, PM and have fun in your lives.**


	2. Chapter 1

**CHAPTER 2**

Natsu yawned loudly as he woke up from his deep slumber.

Without opening his eyes, the pinket tried to get a feel of himself.

First and foremost, he was still hungry. His stomach made sure of that fact by growling almost desperately for some kind of food.

Unknown to him, the same sound startled the black cat, which was curled up on his stomach, previously enjoying a good sleep.

Apart from that, he still felt really sore from all the battles he had had the previous day/days. He didn 't know how much time he was asleep, but his magic power wasn 't at its best.

All the more reason for him to eat...a bunch.

Finally opening his eyes, albeit a bit groggily, he was confused as to why he could only see darkness, instead of the strange sky from before.

"What the hell...? Where am I now...?" Natsu muttered in wonder as he slowly sat up, uncosciously putting his hand on the cat, keeping it from falling onto the hard ground.

The cat was, understandably, surprised by his action.

Turning his head around a couple of times, he noticed that he was inside a cave.

"I don 't remember coming here... Did I sleepwalk...again?" he wondered once again, a bit scared that he might, actually, have done exactly that.

The black cat on his stomach sweatdropped at his antics. Still, it kept quiet, wanting to see what he'll do.

Again, he had a way of surpring it.

The pinket looked down on his stomach, where his right hand kept the cat still protectively.

His ear-to-ear toothy grin was so enticing and inviting, that the cat had a hard time not to blush.

"I knew I smelt someone familiar! You okay, lil' lady?!"

His happy demeanor, threw the cat for a loop. Not only that, but his genuine care about its wellbeing as well.

However, above all that, the cat was, internally, in shock. It had never seen genuine _fangs_ in a human's mouth. Even if said human was a mixture of two other species as well, with both of said species having fangs as the ones that the pinket was sporting.

All these thoughts ran through the cat's mind in the span of a second.

It gave just a "Nya" as an answer.

It, certainly, didn 't expect his grin to widen even more.

"That 's good! 'Cause I 'm better as well!" he replied with the excitement of a child, making the cat sweatdrop.

Again.

Because, as soon as he finished his sentence, his stomach reminded him how hungry he was with another loud growl.

Also, his happy-go-lucky demeanor made an one-eighty.

"Oh man~...I 'm so~ hungry~..." he whined like a perpentual child...

_'It 's official...This guy is crazy... Well, crazier than I am, for sure...'_ the cat thought with another sweatdrop.

Unaware of his companion's thoughts, he stood up, still carefully keeping the cat safe. Then, he started sniffing the air, hoping to find something eatable.

The cat found his twitching nose to be quite funny... and cute.

Though, the predatory grin he had afterwards, was both scary and sexy in the cat's eyes.

**xXxLineBreakxXx**

It was astonishing.

First, there was the speed in which they travelled quite a long distance.

Second, was the energy the young-looking man had right after he smelt his 'food'.

And don 't get the cat wrong, but it had the pleasure/horror to see Natsu eat.

As stated, it was both funny and horryfying a sight, that it made a mental note to never witness something like that.

Never again.

_'I just jinxed it... didn 't I...?'_ it thought with an inaudible, tired sigh.

"Yosh! Now I 'm all fired up!" Natsu cheered like a lunatic child with his right fist up in the air, making the cat sweatdrop for the uptienth time.

And his demeanor changed again.

"...And lost..." he sighed dejectedly, before giving the cat a deadpan look, confusing it. "I don 't suppose you know where we are, do ya?" he asked blankly, albeit his eyes held some hope in them.

_'Forget crazy... This guy is an utter nutcase...'_ the cat sighed mentally, giving him a deadpan look of its own.

"I thought so..." Natsu sighed, again, in dejection, before looking around.

He, tenderly, picked up the cat and put it on his shoulder, lightly scratching it behind its ears, making it purr in delight.

His sad-looking smile confused the hell out of the cat.

"Happy would throw a tantrum, if he knew I was petting another cat." he explained to it, not knowing why he did that.

The cat kept itself from widening its eyes in surprise from the information he let out so freely, even if it suspected something like that from the start.

As he was about to take the first step towards... somewhere... his nose, suddenly, twitched, picking up not one, but several scents.

He had smelt something similar before. Even the cat on his shoulder had a small, lingering scent of that kind on it.

The cat almost yelped by how fast he whirled around. It was ready to scratch his cheek for being incosiderate, but stopped dead on its tracks when its eyes managed to take a glimpse of his fierce glare.

It sent shivers down its spine. And not the good kind.

"We have company..." he said loud enough for the cat to hear.

His deadly serious tone sent another round of fearfull shivers for two reasons. One, it knew what kind of company he was talking about. Two, it didn 't want to reveal itself to the stranger just yet.

That said, it was curious to see how the pinket would fare against his soon-to-be foes.

Some seconds later, three male figures appeared from the bushes that the pinket was gazing at.

His eyes narrowed dangerously and his fists clenched tightly at the sight of their clearly demonic wings. Their black and red armors went completely unnoticed.

Yes, he knew their kind really well. Tartarus was full of them.

These guys were-

"Demons..." Natsu growled lowly, albeit his palpable hate about this kind of species was very clear by his tone.

Said Demons stopped dad in their tracks and their eyes widened in complete surprise.

"A human?!"

"In the familiar forest?!"

"And he recognised us... partially.."

Right, left and middle, with the last one being the apparent leader, voiced their thoughts aloud in shock. "We are Devils, though, not Demons." the leader recomposed himself and couldn 't help but add, as if _that_ was the problem.

Natsu opened his mouth to speak, but the leader beat him to it because of a certain black cat, that he saw on the pinket's shoulder.

"Listen here, human, that cat on your shoulder is a wanted criminal for killing her master." the leader said seriously, hoping that it wouldn 't come to a fight, where the result was obvious.

For him, anyway.

Natsu found himself blinking several times, letting his guard down momentarily. Then, he spent the next entire minute looking between the cat on his shoulder and the leader, ignoring the rising tension amongst said cat and the small group of Devils.

Finally, he gave the leader an incredulous look saying "Are ya fuckin' kiddin' me?! All this lil' lade here does is sleep on me and tryin' to get some food to survive! There 's just no way she killed anyone!".

For its part, the cat gave him a deadpan look for his comment about the sleeping part, before becoming surprised that he defended it.

Natsu never noticed the changes in its expression, of course.

The leader, though, did.

"Listen here, kid-" the leader was interrupted from his speech by the very same person he was addressing.

"I 'M NOT A KID, GODDAMMIT!" Natsu yelled like he threw a tantrum.

Just like a child would. But, don 't tell him tha-

_'Yes, you are...'_ three Devils and a cat thought silmutaniously with a sweatdrop. Though, thankfully, none of them voiced their opinion.

"Right." the leader said simply, trying to get back on track and gain the pinket's attention. Succeeding in that, by the way. "As I was saying, the cat's name is Kuroka. And, for your information," he paused and locked gazes with said cat, both having narrowed eyes "she 's a Devil like us. She killed her master because she went crazy with her power as a Nekoshou." he finished in a low, angry growl.

"I don 't know what a nekoshit is," _''''Nekoshou, you retarded idiot!'''' _"but I know something else. You don 't have any proof on you to show me you 're telling the truth. Also, did you just say _master_? Does that mean she was a slave to you Devils? And, finally, I know of your kind, since I 've dealt with Demons once some years ago. From what I know, they 're liars and try to profit from the weak."

Natsu paused in his speech, in order to carefully pick up the cat from his shoulder and put it on the ground, making it look confusedly at him. He just gave that toothy grin of his as a sign of reassurance.

However, his demeanor made an one-eighty once he got up and locked gazes with the, now, disappointed-looking leader and his two determined companions.

Natsu wore an angry scowl on his face as he ripped his upper, ruined cloth, before taking a fighting stance. Right leg slightly bent and back, along with his right arm, while his left leg was also slightly bent and forth.

His left, outstretched hand, though, was the one that made the Devils' and the cat's eyes widen in utter disbelief, along with what came with it.

Red and orange flames engulfed his hand and morphed a 'come on' sign.

Also, scorching heat enveloped the whole area around them. So much so, that many trees and even the ground beneath their feet started to, actually, melt.

Then, he spoke in a serious, yet very menacing tone, that sent fearfull shivers on the Devils' and cat's spines.

"So, come and get her, if ya want."

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Author's Notes**

**And here 's the first cliffhanger!**

**Sorry, but I couldn 't help myself, even if some of you wanted to see the... let 's just call it a fight, even if it 'll be a slaughter.**

**Natsu may not be at his best, but these guys are cannon fodder. So, don 't expect a long fight.**

**Said fight will be the first one that I 'll have to describe.**

**By the way, for those who just read, as I do for the most part, describing anything isn 't easy. Be it a fight or person, or even clothes, it isn 't easy at all.**

**Anyway.**

**No more spoilers, even if some of you will get the general idea of what will happen in the next chapter.**

**As for the trip I mentioned last chapter, today my superior and I had a talk. I 'll leave around the 15th of April for work at Kos island, returning at around the 15th of October. So don 't expect anything to be uploaded in that timeline.**

**Now.**

**I 'm very honoured.**

**Trully.**

**I don 't think myself even as an ok writer. So, your reviews sent me to sleep with a stupid grin on my face.**

**Which, by the way, doesn 't suit me at all.**

**So,special thanks to: flo463, GreekBro, Apophis9, sonic, Runningstar bloodrage, DdraigTrueEmperor9, rufus264, darkxlunatic, Guy2506, IFLQ84I and Jalis for their reviews!**

**In that order, I 'll answer your reviews.**

**You 're right, for the most part. I don 't agree that Rias wasn 't interested in Issei, since it was because of her interest that he got her flier. Well, that, and his greed for becomening the harem king. Your opinion on Natsu's and Issei's future relationship will certainly be taken into consideration. Also, you 're right that Rias cannot turn him into a Devil, neither Sona. Lastly, thank you very much! I hope you 'll continue liking this story!**

**You 're right for almost everything. Natsu is way above the level of a Dragon King (said species are between 20 and 30 in the chain of the strongest beings in DxD), meaning that, at his best in this time is -at the very least- the 18th strongest being. Aside from that, again, you 're right. Natsu won 't be a Devil under Rias or Sona. I hope you 'll continue liking and reading this story!**

**Thank you for your kind words! Don 't worry too much about Natsu and the harem he 'll, naturally as it 's DxD, have. I 'll work on it very carefully, because Natsu, while powerful, isn 't the guy that will like girls flocking and even fighting over him.**

**Thank you! I hope you 'll like the rest as well!**

**Don 't worry! Your opinion wasn 't rude! It slightly opened my eyes in some things, like the part where Natsu doesn 't kill -period. Aside from Acnologia, of course. Anyway, you 've pointed out things that, in my tiredness, I was going to miss and, eventually, mess up my story. So, thank you very much. Lastly, I noticed that you 've improved greatly on your english, so congratulations are in order!**

**Thank you for your kind words, man! I hope this chapter was to your satisfaction as well! Hopefully, the next ones too!**

**As my profile name suggests, I 'm a Fairy Tail fan. So, what you say is, basically, right. What I don 't know is why you pointed that out, though! Not that I have a problem, of course. Just curiosity.**

**Thank you! I like your straightforwrdness! Though, I hope you won 't be disappointed from what I have in store for Natsu.**

**First off, thanks for the review and your kind words! There are several scenarios in my head for when Natsu will be angry! Not to mention how he 'll act in the fights that have been showed to us in the DxD universe! I hope you 'll like what you 'll read in the future!**

**Thank you! Both for your words, as well as the patience you seem willing to have!**


	3. Chapter 2

**CHAPTER 2**

The Devils' shock, upon seeing that the pink haired human could use fire magic, vanished quickly, giving way to anger and comprehension.

Comprehension because they didn 't know how strong he was, except for the fact that he showed absolute control with the way he showed them the 'come on' sign. Also, for some reason, they couldn 't sense his magic at all, which made them a little nervous.

After all, he was just a human.

A human that was getting in their way to, finally, capture the black cat he was protecting, even though they had explained what she had done. Which is the reason for their anger.

"Incapacitate him. We only need the stray. If needed, kill him." the leader ordered in a serious demeanor, not caring about the murderous glare the pinket sent him, nor the cat's narrowed eyes.

""YES, SIR!"" the two other Devils yelled in unison their compliance.

Natsu gritted his teeth in utter rage. These Devils were the same as the ones from Tartarus. They spoke about taking a life like they were ordering food; so naturally. It made him sick. And he didn 't feel the need to educate them about the preciousness of one's life; be it a human or any other living being.

So, in less than a second after the Devils finished their shouts, he shot like a bullet with his right fist already cocked back and in orange-red raging flames.

"**FIRE DRAGON IRON FIST**" the pinket roared angrily and shot his fist on the right Devil's face, in-between his eyes.

The Devil was unconscious the moment the punch connected with his face. He was shot in great speeds towards a tree, where he crashed and, limbly, fell to the hard ground. When he would wake up, he would be diagnosed with a serious concussion.

The other two Devils'eyes widened in disbelief at the display of speed and power of the human before them.

However, the pinket wasn 't done.

Not in the slightest.

"**TALON**" Natsu continued his assault with a straight, flaming kick to the left Devil's sides.

He had the same fate as the first one.

That left only the trully shocked leader.

Natsu didn 't miss a beat and, with a final attack, sent him to unconsiousness as well. Although, his concussion was the worst of the three.

"**SWORDHORN**" the pinket growled like a beast and headbutted the leader.

He continued to glare at the downed Devils for a moment, before saying "Don 't speak about taking a life so carelessly. Assholes.".

Then, with a sigh, he turned around to walk towards the cat. "Oh, man... these guys were as weak as they were assholes..." he whined childishly, with a matching pout.

Having witnessed everything, the cat couldn 't help but sweatdrop for the uptienth time. _'This guy...'_ she thought with an inaudible sigh. _'...he 's strong; no doupt about that... But...his childishness knows no bounds... as well as he naivety.'_ her thoughts became a little more serious. _'He can 't possibly believe that there won 't come a time for him to kill someone. Be it a Devil, or even a human with a Sacred Gear.'_ she, silently, believed, before her thoughts made her fight down a small blush. _'That aside, his reactions to certain things are kinda cute!'_

Unaware of the cat's thoughts about himself, Natsu picked her up and put her on his shoulder, giving her a toothy grin. "I knew I was right about ya!" he exclaimed cheerily, visibly confusing the poor cat. "You 're a good girl, if a bit lazy, but good girl nonetheless!" he clarified, his grin, somehow, widening. "If ya were like those bastards said, you woulda killed them even before I kicked their asses! Instead, you just sat and watched the show!" he finished his cheerful tirade in a prideful tone as he started to walk.

Que for another sweatdrop at his simple logic. Even if it was entirely true.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

The way back to the cave was a silent one, much to the cat's surprise.

Not only that, but he walked slowly as well. She noticed him taking in every single tree and path, while also, occasionally, sniffing with his nose and nodding to himself.

She didn 't know what he was thinking. However, it was a, somewhat, pleasant surprise to see him act maturely. Not impulsively like he did when he was hungry.

Or when he faced those Devils.

What, also, made her curious, was how the hell did his scarf remain unscathed from what he had done, before she found him. There wasn 't any magic coming from it. When she found him, he had multiple wounds and most of his body was covered in blood and dirt. Another curious thing about him, was that his wounds were already healing themselves at a pretty fast rate. Yet, his scarf was completely untouched.

_'How the hell did he accomplish that...?' _she wondered in her mind as she observed him from her spot at the entrance of the cave.

The pinket was using his flames to make the cave's ground soft in certain spots.

_'Scratch that... What the hell is he doing...?'_

After finishing with the ground, Natsu did the same with some spots on the walls.

"Ok." Natsu muttered in satisfaction as soon as he finished. "Now, onto the forest to bring some wood!" he declared in a childishly happy fashion, before heading for the cave's entrance/exit.

The not-so-secret-anymore Nekoshou just kept staring at him in a deadpan, even after he was lost from her view.

Feeling him quite away from the position, while also hearing the faint sound of breaking wood and the pinket's prideful cries, she decided to go back to her original form.

In a puff of smoke, she was like the first time she met him and he had already lost consciousness.

Kuroka took a look of herself and hummed in satisfaction, before her facial expression became curious.

"What would pinky think, if he saw me right now?" she wondered.

With a shrug of her shoulders and a "Nya... Who cares?!", she went to inspect the spots that Natsu had softened with his flames.

"Probably, he wants to build something... nya...!" she inspected carelessly, before taking a thinking pose, with her right index finger holding her chin.

She took her time continuously wondering what the pinket had in mind.

With her guard down.

Not realising that she spent way too much time wondering about the pinket's intentions.

Not noticing that the pinket had just arrived at the cave's entrance.

Where he could clearly see her real form.

Well, as the saying goes, curiosity killed the cat.

"So..." Natsu started, his tone of voice sounding a little curious.

She lightly jumped in surprise at his 'quick' return, but had no other reaction, besides her widened eyes.

Not only because he surprised her, but also because he was caring what seemed like over 20 big pieces of wood on his left shoulder, tied in way too much rope. In his right hand was a crudely made make-shift net full of fruits. All taken from the forest.

"That 's what ya look like! Kurola, right?!" the pinket finished his statement with his signature toothy grin and slight tilt of his head to the right. "The name 's Natsu! Natsu Dragneel!" he intronduced himself excitedly. "Nice to, finally, meetcha!" his grin widened at his greeting.

Kuroka blinked at his not what-she-expected-him-to-react way a couple of times, before her lips turned up to a teasing smirk. "Is that a way to greet a Devil, nya?!" she asked playfully, not remembering that he screwed up her name.

Or just ignored it.

"Nah..." Natsu shook his head in the negative, albeit dismissively. "Ya 're just a cat-lady, like a friend of mine." he said easily as he started to make his way towards her.

"Who?" although Kuroka sounded simply curious, she was, internally, anxious if the friend he mentioned was someone she knew very well.

"Ya, probably, don 't know her. Her name 's Millianna and she 's not from around here...wherever this is." the pinket stated, sighing in disappointment at the end. He knew, in his gut, that he was nowhere near Earthland, or even Edolas for that matter. Meaning that he would, most likely, never see his friends again.

For her part, Kuroka felt both glad and disappointed that it wasn 't the person she had in mind. Glad, because that person weren 't friends with this wierdo... and disappointed for the same reason. Because, that way, she would have the chance to come close to them, without the Devils being in her way. With the combination of hers and Natsu's power, it would be impossible for simple minions to prevent her from seeing them.

Or so she believed, anyway.

However, after her not-so-good thoughts ended, she realised what he said at the end. "You 're right, nya. I don 't know her." she gave the unneeded afirmation with a slow nod, knowing that he wasn 't looking at her, since he had already started his work on building whatever he had in mind... with his bare hands being the tools and his flames being his only help. "By the way, where are you from, nya?" she asked interested, her tails swinging back and forth slowly.

Natsu stiffened at the question, before relaxing with an inaudible sigh and continued his work. He didn 't have anything to gain by telling her a lie. "The town of Magnolia. It 's in Earthland." he stated matter-of-factly.

Multiple question marks appeared above Kuroka's head at what he just said. She had never heard of those places before. "Where 's that, nya?" she asked curiously, her tails swinging in a more excited way.

Natsu completely stopped his work and turned around, making Kuroka even more interested with his serious, yet sad facial expression.

"Probably a few universes away. You see, I 'm not from this world, Kuroka."

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

Sirzechs Lucifer, former Gremory.

Believed to be the strongest Devil, as well as recognised by reality itself as one of the 10 strongest beings in existence.

As one of the four Maou, he has to maintain a regal posture almost 24/7.

Yet, he couldn 't stop the sweatdrop that appeared on the back of his head.

After all, the servants he had sent after the stray Devil/Nekoshou, Kuroka, came back with serious cases of concussion and other small injuries.

However, what made him have that sweatdrop was that they told him about a _pink haired human_ using some kind of fire magic and having the strength to leave them unconscious after _just one attack_.

So, either they had gone crazy from one of Kuroka's tricks, or they were telling the truth.

That said, even though he inclined to believe the first, his gut was telling him that they were truthful in their words.

Meaning that, now, he had one more person to worry about.

A stray cat and her, unlikely as it seemed, _pink haired_ companion.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Author's notes.**

**So, Natsu drops the bomb very early.**

**As stated in the chapter, he has nothing to gain... which also means nothing to lose. That 's the reason he made the big reveal so early.**

**His view of Kuroka as a Devil hasn 't been seen yet, because he isn 't even convinced that she 's a Devil.**

**No more spoilers about that.**

**As for the fight, I told you that it wouldn 't be long. For those who know Natsu, he seems weak at the start of a fight, before he completely dominates them because he analyses his opponents. He didn 't do that now. And he won 't do it in similar situations.**

**Lastly, we have a mini-Sirzechs-introduction. What 's this about? Well, you 'll just have to wait and read.**

**I 'll try to put up, at the very least, one or two chapters, before I leave for six months in mid-April.**

**Other than all this, you guys are amazing!**

**Thank you from the bottom of my heart for your kind words!**

**Now, to answer the question you all have.**

**This story starts 4 years before cannon.**

**Why? No reason. Just felt like it. And it gives the time for Natsu to go around with Kuroka and 'see the world'.**

**In your reviews, some of you have pretty good points. Know that everything you say is taken into consideration.**

**Except from Natsu's physiology. That won 't change. The reason for that will come way later in the story.**

**Probably, you didn 't like the chapter very much.**

**So, I 'll try to do better in the next ones.**

**Even if you did, I 'll still try.**

**Otherwise, this story will become my own amusement and not your 'have-fun-time'.**

**Anyway, see you guys later!**


	4. Chapter 3

**CHAPTER 3**

Kurkoka tried her hardest to not outright laugh in the pinket's face.

"Pfft...NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~!"

Believe me, she really did.

Though, to her credit, his statement would make every single one of us to laugh in hysterics.

Like Kuroka.

As for Natsu, his only reaction to her uproarious laughter was to stare at her in a deadpan, trying to make himself look serious.

"NYAHAHAHAHAHAHAHA~"

His expression made it all the funnier for the Nekoshou.

Seeing that he only became a laughing stock for his companion, the pinket returned to his previous work. Not even himself noticed his eyebrow twitching in annoyance at Kuroka's laughter.

Not because she was mocking him, no sir.

Ok... maybe a tad bit of that as well.

It was because she made a lot of noise in a relatively confined space, hurting his really sensitive ears.

After several more minutes of laughing and, finally, noticing that she had no reaction from Natsu to defend himself, Kuroka took several deep breaths to calm herself. Though, some giggles here and there escaped her full lips.

It was only after she gained complete control of herself that she spoke.

"You 're serious..." she said it like a statement, although there was wonder and incredulity in her tone as well.

Natsu, who was almost done with his work, paused for a moment, before answering with his back facing her as his hands still worked.

"Yeah." he simply stated. Just as Kuroka opened her mouth to speak, he beat her to it. "Unless you know about the Kingdom of Fiore, its capital; Crocus, and Magnolia Town where the magic Guild known as Fairy Tail is." he said sarcastically, knowing that she knew nothing about what he asked for.

Kuroka closed her mouth immediately, not having an answer to his sarcasm.

Because, the more he spoke, the more she realised a few things about him. Now that she paid more attention, anyway.

First and foremost, she could understand what he was saying, but that was because of her nature as a reicarnated Devil, with the gift to speak any known language.

Said language was almost like japanese in nature, but not exactly that. Well, in a manner of speaking, it was like he spoke the native language of a far away and seclusive village of Japan.

Yet, even then, it felt like it was completely foreign at the same time.

As for how _he_ understood _her_... Probably because of his non-human nature; seeing that he was also a Demon and a Dragon, as much as he was human.

That brought her back to the 'fight' he had against the other Devils. Even for his, admittedly, bizarre physiology, Natsu was _way_ stronger than he looked. Physically, at least. KOing three Devils in one_ physical_ attack each was something that only someone strong can accomplish, taking into account that they were _not_ a human.

And Natsu may, certainly, look like a human, but he wasn 't one. A normal one, that is.

Other than that, she remembered him using those flames of his, yet there was no indication he was using demonic power. It was all his natural talent.

Magic.

One that she had no idea how strong it was, other than the fact that it _was_ powerful.

And, aside from all that, as well as his claim to be from _another universe_, she realised that she knew nothing of Natsu Dragneel.

She 's already been on the run for the past year and she had heard all about the strong individuals and the Sacred Gears she had to be careful of.

However, Natsu Dragneel was a name she had never heard or seen written somewhere.

And, just like that, his absurd claim became, more than somewhat, believable.

Even for a moment.

"Let 's just say that you don 't lie-"

"I don 't."

"-how did you get here...?" she asked skeptically with her head tilted slightly to the left to emphasize the question, ignoring his minor interuption.

For the uptienth time, Natsu paused in his -almost done- work and turned to face her.

She was, slightly, taken aback with the seriousness he was looking at her.

"I would like to know that as well."

**-?!-**

Kuroka was frozen on her feet in horror.

The one who had answered her wasn 't Natsu.

As for the pinket, he simply turned around with his eyes widened to size of dinner plates. Not because of _what_ she smelt like. But because she managed to sneak up on him and his extremelly heightened senses.

"Well?" the newcomer probbed impatiently, with their hands on their hips and their right foot tapping on the ground.

Kuroka knew very well of this newcomer.

Pearly white skin, elegantly straight, sky blue mid-back hair with matching eyes. Dressed in an expensive looking white kimono with golden trims at the edges, a golden sash starting from the left shoulder and going to the right hip, before going back upwards to get tied in the mid-back. And, for all their elegance, this person was barefooted.

"Tiamat...?!" Kuroka didn 't even register in her mind that she uttered that name.

Natsu did, though, and, with dangerously narrowed eyes, he jumped back to stand in front of Kuroka, taking an offensive stance.

For her part, Tiamat remained tapping her foot impatiently, her eyes narrowing as well. She didn 't like being ignored. "I 'm still waiting..."

Finally, Kuroka snapped out of her shocked trance and narrowed her eyes as well. "Natsu, we need to get out of here. Now." she told her companion seriously.

"No way." Natsu shocked her once more with his answer. Even if his tone was, well, even, she could practically feel his predatory smirk.

Something that Tiamat quickly took notice of, if her now dangerously narrowed eyes were any indication. "If you 're thinking what I think you do, think carefully." Tiamat stated coldly, making him narrow his eyes at her. "You 're not fighting me alone."

Kuroka's eyes widened once more. Tiamat had blatantly threatened her life, in order to prevent a meaningless fight to happen.

However, she wasn 't concerned about that. She had seen how her companion had reacted previously at the mere mention of the Devils taking his life.

She was more afraid that Natsu would attack the Chaos Karma Dragon in a fit of rage.

Especially since she was right behind him and saw how his veins bulged as soon as Tiamat finished her sentence. Meaning that Natsu caught onto the threat as well.

"Look here, lady." Natsu growled like a beast ready to pounce on his prey. "If ya want ta talk, then I 'm in. If ya want ta fight, Imma gonna fight ya as long as ya need." he stated coldly, even if it sounded weird because of him still growling.

Tiamat and Kuroka were about to speak at the same time. One to oblige to his request, the other to prob their escape, noticing the heat rising dangersouly.

Guess who wanted to do which...

However, the pinket wasn 't done.

"But... Don 't talk about killing in my face. Ever again. Especially if it 's about a friend of mine."

His growling statement finished with him being covered in flames from head to toe, surprising both women.

Though, even if she didn 't show any outward reaction, Tiamat felt chills continuously run down her spine at the mere sight of those flames.

Which, in her mind, didn 't make any sence.

_'Unless...'_ she thought in foreboding realisation, barely managing to keep her composure and outward features in check. _'...this kid is a Dragon Slayer of some kind... and a powerful one at that...'_

"Alright." Tiamat responded evenly, making Kuroka give a subtle sigh of relief that the krisis had been averted for some reason.

As soon as the word left her mouth, the flames, along with the almost unbearable -for Kuroka- heat, vanished into thin air, like they never existed and Natsu relaxed his posture.

At the same time, Tiamat stopped feeling the chills, which helped in confirmng her assumption.

None of the women ever registered that Natsu referred to Kuroka as a friend of his.

"See?!" the pinket grinned toothily, showing his fangs at Tiamat, who, inwardly, took great interest in that detail. " 't wasn 't difficult, was it?!" his cheerful demeanor threw her a little off, since he was utterly hostile mere seconds ago.

The only female Dragon King nodded slowly in agreement, still feeling a little off with his behaviour.

As if sensing her unease about the situation, Kuroka felt compelled to inform Tiamat about Natsu's swiftness in changing attitudes.

"Don 't worry, yourself too much, nya... It 's just Natsu being Natsu. One moment he acts like a child-"

"HEY! I 'm NOT a child." the pinket's way to defend himself fell to deaf ears. Especially since he pouted and stomped his right foot like a _child_ would throw a tantrum.

Kuroka continued undeterred in a deadpan tone. "-and the other he 's scarying everyone off with his flames."

"...I see..." Tiamat replied evenly. Thankfully, nobody saw the large sweatdrop behind her head. Her dignity as a Dragon King was at risk otherwise.

Seeing that the situation was under control, Natsu sighed lightly, before walking past the curiously looking Tiamat. He went straight at his unfinished work, making both women to, finally, take notice of its shape and form.

Especially Kuroka.

"Is that a hammock...?" she wondered almost rhetorically, actually afraid of the answer.

"Looks like it..." Tiamat unhelpfully contributed with a nod.

Without stopping his work "If ya want to sleep on the ground, be my guest, Kulora!" Natsu replied in a teasing tone, probably not even taking notice of his screwing up the Nekoshou's name.

A visible tick mark appeared on Kuroka's forehead at that, especially because Tiamat didn 't keep her giggling fit in control. "Shut up, nya! You sleep on the floor!" she shouted 'angrily', sticking her tongue out childishly.

Tiamat sweatdropped for the second time at the sight. However, she felt the need to get in on the fun. "And where will I sleep?" she asked 'innocently'.

Both bickering teens stopped and looked at her increadulously.

"What?" she continued with her false innocense. Seeing that they were still out of it "This cave _is_ my home, after all." she finished in a statement.

Natsu, lightly shook his head, deciding to just go with the flow. After all, he always was 'the more the merrier' type of guy. So, why change now?

Meanwhile, in Kuroka's head.

_'NOOOOO~! MY PERSONAL HEATER~! I DON 'T WANNA SHARE IT~!'_

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Authors notes.**

**This chapter is slightly shorter than the others.**

**I don 't know how many of you predicted about Tiamat showing up, especially this early.**

**There 's a reason for that, which will be revealed in due time.**

**Again, this chapter didn 't have any action, or character development.**

**It 's still early for both of these in this story.**

**Some of you may have realised it, but it 's going to be a relatively slow developing story. Mainly because of how little time I have to work on it.**

**Again, thank you for your kind words in your reviews!**

**And to answer the question for some of you.**

**Of course Natsu will be one of the 10 strongest. Especially since he has four years before cannon starts. That, and because Natsu is a worse training freak than Sairaorg, for the sole reason to become strong enough to protect what 's dear to him.**

**Don 't start with 'power of friendship is shit' or anything related. It 's true that this power up is quite questionable, but it 's gonna be very different here. Not the way Hiro Mashima portrayed it in Fairy Tail manga.**

**Anyway, stay healthy, be good at your loved ones and have fun in life!**


	5. Chapter 4

**CHAPTER 4**

Kuroka would forever admit that she was many things; lazy and cat-napper being among those.

She would also admit that she got tired of Natsu pretty quickly. However, the Stray Devil/Nekoshou admired him greatly at the same time, for the same reason.

For the past three weeks, Kuroka had learned all of Natsu's daily habits.

Wake up after, maximum, five hours of heavy sleep, with his snores not leaving every single being at around one mile radius to sleep. Then comes breakfast, followed by a quick swim at the lake near the cave, where the Undines live. Using said Undines for a small work-out session in hand-to-hand combat, which lasts until his lunch time. After he eats enough for ten people, at the very least, the pinket gets back to training; using trees or huge boulders for weight-lifting, running around with a rock tied on his waist by thick rope, push-ups, pull-ups, sit-ups... anything he could do for his physical training with the small amount of resources he had in the Familiar Forest.

After that, came dinner. Again, he ate for, at the very least, ten people, before he spent around two hours on meditation.

Natsu had asked her to join him in training more times that she could count. She rejected every single time.

Partly to see his adorable, childish pout and partly because she was lazy.

The fact that she always salivated at the sight of his lean, muscular body drenched in sweat was easily dismissed.

As well as her joining him in meditation. On her own volition, of course.

So, yeah, Kuroka was pretty tired of the same thing happening every single day.

Yet, she admired the pinket for always having the energy and drive to continue having the same routine.

However, it never crossed her mind to ask _why_ Natsu was 'torturing', as she would call it, himself.

As for Tiamat, she had left the morning after her appearance, without saying anything.

Not that Kuroka cared. She was left with a personal heater all to herself, so she wasn 't complaining about that.

At the end of the day, the fact that she 'd been sleeping on Natsu's chest in her cat form, made all the negatives melt away.

As for Natsu, he also didn 't care where Tiamat had gone. After all, the cave they were living was hers and he figured she had other business to attend. He wouldn 't even ask where she was, whenever the bluenette returned. The fact that she hadn 't tell them anything was proof that the Dragoness didn 't want them to know what she did in her life.

That, and she didn 't ask him about whatever he thought she could.

That said, he had, secretly, pouted at not having a spar with the Dragoness. He wanted to see how he could hold against a Dragon of this world.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

In a very expensively furnished room, which was somewhere inside the Leviathan territory in the Underworld, there were seven individuals of high power.

Behemoth. Serafall Leviathan's only (known) Evil Piece, acting as a guard right in front of the closed doors of the room.

Serafall Leviathan herself, clad in a cute, magical girl's outfit, complete with a wand. She was sitting at the head of the long table of her dining room, showing off her excellent table manners, befitting of her title as the Maou Leviathan.

On her right was Sirzechs Lucifer, the strongest of the four Maou, with his wife and Queen, Grayfia Lucifuge, being their maid, attending to eveyone's needs -foodwise-.

On Sirzechs' right was sitting his good friend, sparring partner and fellow Maou, as well as fellow Super Devil, Ajuka Beezlebub.

On the other side, across from Sirzechs, Falbium Asmodeus was eating silently, with his eyes closed.

Finally, the person who had, practically, begged for this unofficial meeting, was sitting across Ajuka Beezlebub's gently smiling visage, showing relatively good table manners.

"So..." Ajuka started the conversation in a very civilised and gentle manner, addressing the last mentioned person, while also gaining everyone's attention, since everybody had just finished with their dinner. "Why did call for all of us, Tiamat?" he asked, curiosity evident in both his eyes and tone.

Yes. The last person was the Chaos Karma Dragon. The Dragon King (or is it Queen?!) Tiamat.

"Yeah, Tia-chan! Answer Aju-chan!" Serafall chimed in with a twirl of her wand, her childish tone and impatience making the Dragoness to, secretly, sweatdrop at one of the Four Maou's antics.

The fact that Serafall didn 't even give a second to the Dragon King to answer went completely unnoticed, since both Falbium and Sirzechs nodded in agreement with Serafall's statement.

What Serafall left unsaid, however, was that she had to cancel her time with her precious little sister, or So-tan as she liked to call her. Which left her utterly restless and impatient.

"Right... Leviathan-sama." Tiamat said simply, pausing slightly to not let herself get carried away. After all, she was equal to Serafall in terms of power and, due to the latter's position and title, she had to be respectful, despite not liking it one bit.

That, and, while she played a role in the Devils' society, namely interrupting their Rating Games when something extremelly dangerous happened and stopping said something herself, Tiamat wasn 't affiliated with them. She was independent, like a real Dragon should be.

Tiamat took in a small breath and let it out, her mind clearing with the notion as she started to speak. "Three weeks ago, I went back to the cave I used to have as a home in the Familiar Forest. There, I encoutered two individuals, one of whom was building a hammock, of all things, in order for both of them to sleep for an unknown amount of time." she paused in her monologue, gauging their reactions at the last bit of information. She was mildly disappointed when she received only raised eyebrows in mirth and curiosity.

She didn 't get to continue, though.

"Forgive me for the interruption, Tiamat." Sirzechs spoke calmly, gaining the attention of everyone around him. Then, he interwined his fingers of both hands as he rested his elbows on the table and smiled mysteriously towards the stoic Dragoness. "Did they happen to be the SS-Class Stray Devil, the Nekoshou Kuroka and a pink haired male at his late teens or early twenties?" he asked knowingly.

Tiamat didn 't let her confusion and surprise to show on her facial expression. A discreet look around told her that the others knew what he was talking about. _'Figures...'_ she thought with an internal, exasperated sigh. "Yes, Lucifer-sama." she nodded affirmatively. "How do you all know about them, though?" she couldn 't help but ask with a tilt of her head to the right.

If the circustances were different, Sirzechs would have called the small gesture 'cute'.

"The Familiar Forest was the last of Kuroka's, known, whereabouts." Ajuka spoke calmy, yet his eyes were serious as he gazed at the Dragoness, earning the whole table's attention. "The three Devils that were sent after her, reported said pink haired man to protect her, while causing small injuries and heavy concussions at those three Devils, using some kind of fire magic." he elaborated, becoming proggressively serious.

This time, Tiamat wasn 't surprised. She almost fell victim to his weird, yet beautiful flames, in order to protect Kuroka from her.

"So, our question is. What can you tell us about them." Falbium all but demanded, even if he sounded bored out of his mind. His half-lidded eyes showed both seriousness and curiosity.

Looking around, Tiamat saw the same emotions run through everyone's eyes, even the stoic Grayfia. Due to her title as a Dragon King, she was allowed to know why Kuroka had become a Stray. She didn 't have a problem to share what (very) little she knew about those two. However, she felt that something was wrong with the way Falbium worded his demand.

_'Ah...'_ it clicked and she restrained herself from widening her eyes in realization.

They didn 't question why she hadn 't apprehended Kuroka, or even killed her, considering the Nekoshou's status with the Devils. They seemed to have a theory of their own, completely different with what the Devil Council had. And it seemed that her, small amount as it was, information was vital for them to know how to procceed.

The Four Maou and Grayfia saw Tiamat's eyes to soften just a bit, breaking her stoic visage for a moment, before hardening again.

Tiamat decided to lock eyes with Sirzechs, since he was the strongest being in the room, as well as the Devil of the highest authority, even if what she spoke next was for all ears to hear.

"Kuroka was as sane as any other person, be it a human or a supernatural being. Lazy, mischievous and playful are the three characteristics that I noticed in the very small amount of time I spent in the cave. As for the young man, his name is Natsu Dragneel." she paused in her explanation as everyone around her nodded thankfully for that small bit of information. They needed to know the man's name in case of an encounter. "He 's childish and energetic to the extreme and gets worked up over nothing." she ignored the knowing looks everyone sent at Serafall, as well as the latter's childish pout at the unspoken implication, and continued like noting happened.

Her eyes narrowed an showed unusual seriousness, unintentionally shutting up Serafall, who was about to throw a tantrum. "Even _talking_ about taking a life, sets him off, in a _violent_ way." she emphasised the two words. "He was ready to fight me in Kuroka's stead, meaning that he 's also protective, or overprotective, to those close to him." she elaborated her previous statement.

Here, she took a small breath. It was time to reveal her assumption. "Yes, he uses fire magic. What you couldn 't have known is that, unless I 'm sorely mistaken, his fire magic has Dragon Slaying properties."

As soon as she finished her statement, Tiamat wished she had a camera with her.

The looks of shock every Devil in the room had were, simply, priceless.

The eerie silence broke from whom the Dragoness expected, along with an even more expected query.

"A human using fire magic with Dragon Slaying properties...? How is that even possible...?" Ajuka asked skeptically, furrowing his eyebrows to emphasize his skepticism.

"I don 't know." Tiamat answered honestly with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. "All I know is that his flames gave me the same feeling as Ascalon, or other Dragon Slaying Artifacts, albeit a _lot_ stronger." she explained seriously.

"I see." Sirzechs nodded in understanding, before taking a thoughtful look.

He was about to ask the most important question, when Serafall beat him to it.

"Are they dangerous, Tiamat?" the female Maou asked in a rare moment of seriousness.

The words _"to the world"_ were left, purposefully, unsaid.

Yes. They certainly were. A Nekoshou, especially one that 's being hunted for her life, is always dangerous. And a _freakin' Dragon Slayer_ as a companion? the answer to that alone is obvious. Anything that can go up against a Dragon, much less than a Dragon King like Tiamat, can be considered _deadly_, not just dangerous.

Yet...

"No."

As long as those two were left to their own devices, they were completely and utterly harmless.

Tiamat had closed her eyes as she answered in a calm tone, not trusting even herself with her own answer.

Because, if there was someone stupid enough to poke a Dragon, then there would be a mess of cataclysmic proportions. And Tiamat liked to think that the pinket had the manners of a Dragon.

Which meant that he would react _extremelly violently_ if someone disrupted his peace, collateral damage be damned.

Had she not closed her eyes, Tiamat would have seen the, suddenly, very sad looks all Four Maou and even the stoic Grayfia had on their faces.

Due to their Council, they were the harmbringers of the extinction of the Nekoshou race, with the exception being Kuroka... and her little sister, whom Sirzechs managed to save from the Council and put her in his own little sister's Peerage as soon as Kuroka's sister was found.

The grief was short lived for the Maou Lucifer. In its stead came hope. Hope that this pink haired man, named Natsu Dragneel, would help his little sister in the future from a fate his own parents had set up for his adorable Ria-tan.

After all, the Dragon _always _protects the princess.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Author's notes**

**Again, no actual character development, or action.**

**This chapter's purpose was the meeting between the Maou and Tiamat, in order to establish that Natsu and Kuroka are kinda 'free' to do as they please, as long as they don 't cause mayhem.**

**Also, it was time for something relatively serious, aside from humor and childishness. It 's because of this that I didn 't focus on the interaction between Natsu and Kuroka.**

**I 've already said it, but the story will be _slow_.**

**I 'm hopeful that you 'll be patient with me.**

**Don 't get worked up about the chapter's ending. Especially those who want Natsu have nothing to do with Rias and her Peerage.**

**Unfortunately for all of you, this cannot happen, since all the events are centered around Rias' Peerage.**

**I can tell you, though, he won 't be a Devil under her. He can 't be, since he 's _leagues_ above her in terms of power. When cannon starts, it becomes _major leagues_, so yeah.**

**On a sidenote, I have a week-long leave of absence from work.**

**13th of April I leave for Kos Island, in order to work for the entire season. Meaning that I won 't be able to update this story for the next six months, since I won 't have my laptop with me.**

**That said, I 'll update one more chapter by next Friday, which is all I can do.**

**Thank you, again, for reading my story!**

**Peace, Health and Harmony to all of you!**


	6. Chapter 5

**CHAPTER 5**

Three months.

Well, at least, that 's how much time Kuroka believed had passed. For the human world, anyway.

Because, to her, it sure as all hell felt like eons.

She was so bored, she could swear she would die in one of her naps.

However, she wasn 't naive enough to believe that it could happen.

Even if it could, she wouldn 't allow it.

After all, she had a little sister to reunite with.

A little sister that she, still, couldn 't find the courage to tell her pink (salmon) haired companion about.

Speaking of said companion, Kuroka had never seen a person, no matter their race, so determined to become stronger.

Whenever he was training, aside from his work out sessions with the Undines, Natsu always wore a very serious expression on his scarred face. The determinedly focused look in his eyes was both endearing and kinda scary.

I didn 't help that she could tell that he had become way stronger in such a small amount of time. Be it physically or magically.

The only time of day, aside from meals, that she joined him, was when Natsu was meditating.

At first, she couldn 't feel whatever power he had inside of him. The couple of times she had seen him using his flames had only helped her to assume that he was using some kind of fire magic.

Slowly, but surely, her suspition was confirmed. She didn 't know why it took so long to feel his magic.

Even if she was young, Kuroka was both smart and cunning. Not a genius, but smart enough to have a theory.

Since Natsu had proclaimed himself to be from another universe, wouldn 't it make sence that, in his world, there was a special source in the air for the magicians (wizards) to replenish their reserves?

With that in mind, wouldn 't it also make sence that it would take some time for Natsu to replace his own source with this world's source?

Even if it was an admittedly weak assumption, in theory at least, it was the only logical explanation Kuroka had, regarding Natsu's magic.

That, however, had nothing to say about the _absurd_ amount of magic energy Natsu kept inside him.

The Nekoshou-turned-Devil, now, knew why Natsu was so confident in fighting Tiamat, a being that was way above her league.

Because _he_ was _stronger_ than _the freakin' strongest Dragon King_.

And that was _almost three months ago_.

Meaning that, even as she was thinking about this, while watching the subject of her thoughts meditating, Natsu_ was getting stronger_.

By the _fuckin' minute_.

A quick 'feel' of his energy confirmed that thought.

Even if the pinket's energy grew at a very small amount per minute, the pace in which this was happening, while meditating, was _absurd_.

Kuroka had no other words to describe how se felt about Natsu's growth in the, almost, four months they spent together.

Because, if he kept up his regime, Kuroka was sure that Natsu would become _one of the ten_ in, practically, no time.

And the brunette had no illusions that her companion would stop any time soon.

She wanted to be strong as well. When the time would come where she would reunite with her sister, Kuroka would have already made sure to become strong enough to protect the both of them.

That said, she was too lazy to train. Especially so vigorously as Natsu.

She wasn 't a training freak, thank you very much.

That said, Kuroka was _really_ attracted to the pinket. His eating habits and naivety aside, Natsu was caring towards her, mindful of her privacy and made sure she slept comfortably, even going so far as to use his own body heat for that, among other things.

The fact that his looks and power were, quite literally, otherwordly, had nothing to do with her attraction to him.

No sir.

Spending an hour to meditate alongside Natsu was something that Kuroka enjoyed. What she was curious about, however, was why such a happy-go-lucky and joyous person like Natsu kept so much _sadness_ in the very depths of his heart.

And, if nothing else, Kuroka was, essentially, a cat.

And, again, as the saying goes, _curiousity_ killed the cat.

"Natsu?" Kuroka called right after they opened their eyes from their meditative state.

The pinket hummed questionably at her, even as he stared at the sky in an absentminded manner.

Seeing him like this, Kuroka's curiousity picked up even more.

"What was your world like?" she found herself asking with a small tilt of her head as she followed his gaze towards the moonless, purple-ish sky.

Natsu got himself comfortable, after satisfyingly popping his bones form the vigorous training and the weird position he had put himself for his meditation, before asking himself a question. "What do you wanna know, exactly?"

"Hmmm..." Kuroka hummed thoughtfully. "Everything, really." she said simply, albeit honestly.

"Everything, huh..." the pinket muttered softly, with a matching smile and a fond gaze.

Kuroka turned her head and saw his expresion. At this moment, even as sweaty as he was, Natsu was downright _handsome_. Especially since his wild locks swayed at a non-existent wind.

She didn 't fight the blush that covered her cheeks, nor the sudden heat in her nether region.

"Well..." the pinket cut off her train of thought, before it took a _very steamy_ route. "It all started..."

Kuroka didn 't know how long Natsu had been speaking. The guy told her the story of his life and his own point of view on several events, sometimes using both his body and his expression to overexaggerate.

Many things of what she heard, the Nekoshou could hardly believe. However, Natsu's overexaggeration aside, she _knew_ he was telling the truth about _everything_.

She could feel it. Her Senjutsu would never lie to her. She passed the same train of emotions as her companion, who was narrating the story of his life.

That said, she found Natsu's ability to forgive and move forward concerning.

For fuck's sakes, the guy didn 't have a spec of true hate in his being. His childishness with his rival, Gray, doesn 't count.

She was both astounded and worried that he had found it in himself to forgive _his father's murderer_ even as Natsu, essentially, killed the guy, right before he appeared in the familiar forest.

Her worry over the matter was because she knew that this world didn 't work like Natsu's. And, because of that... how would he feel if he knew the truth about her status as a Stray Devil?

Not that it mattered... much.

Ok... it mattered. A _lot_.

Because, now that Kuroka learned _everything_ about Natsu, she felt even _more_ attracted to the man.

Being the young maiden that she was, along with her physiology as a supernatural being, she was attracted to power.

However, Natsu was _so much more_.

Lastly, she understood why Natsu was training so vigorously.

The Nekoshou didn 't need to hear it from his own mouth to confirm it; his actions spoke volumes about his intentions.

Natsu was pushing himself because _he wanted to protect her_.

Because... _she _was _his precious friend_.

_'No...'_ Kuroka resolved herself internally. _'I 'll, definetely, be more than that, one day.'_

With her resolve steeled, she vowed to become stronger. Not only for her sister.

Natsu was trying his best for her.

So, _she would try her best for him as well_.

But.

First things first.

"Hey, Natsu?" she called out softly, gaining his attention.

"Hm?" he hummed in aknowledgement, choosing to not comment on her sad smile and expression as she gazed at the sky once again.

She would go through with this. She would come clean and explain to him why she was considered a monster.

A monster with a, relatively, noble heart.

A heart that was shattered the moment her little sister was in danger.

A little sister she was glad to hear that was being well taken care of by the Gremory girl.

"...Please, let me tell you my story as well..."

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

Grayfia Lucifuge had always prided herself to be a very patient person. Being the strongest Queen in the Underworld kinda made matters worse, because her husband was a sis-con, the likes of which only Serafall surpassed and that was only because the latter was quirkier than every other Devil.

That said, her patience was thinning every time she watched her husband doing paperwork.

Or, lack of doing, if that 's even a phrase.

Especially after the meeting with the other three Great Satans and Tiamat, the Maou Lucifer had started to be more lost in thought than focused at the task at hand; his paperwork.

Grayfia, being his wife for centuries, knew why, of course.

She could tell that Sirzechs was _extremelly _interested in this Natsu Dragneel person that accompanied the SS Class Stray Devil, Kuroka.

After all, she knew about her sister-in-law's marriage contract. One that, unfortunately for Rias, was, practically, unbreakable.

That said, the silver haired maid/strongest Queen was very aware of the fact that it was _impossible_ for Rias to reicarnate Natsu Dragneel as a Devil, in the very possible case that it would come down to a Rating Game between her sister-in-law and her fiance, Raiser Phenex.

Based on Tiamat's claim that the _pinket_ -she still had hard time to believe his hair colour- was a very strong Dragon Slayer, even Grayfia herself wouldn 't be able to reicarnate him as a Devil.

The only way for that to happen was for her husband or his fellow Maou and Super Devil, Ajuka Beezlebub, to accomplish such a feat and, then, trade whatever Evil Piece Natsu Dragneel would consume with Rias.

That said, there was no way of telling how many Evil Pieces, or even which ones, the _pinket_ would consume.

However, Grayfia was sure for one thing and one thing only.

Natsu Dragneel was in her husband's sight the moment he was mentioned and, as a neutral party, he _would_ be involved with Rias' marriage problem, whether he liked it or not.

Sirzechs was wrecking his mind to find the way to do just that for the past three months.

And he had several more years to perfect his plans about the whole thing.

And, in Grayfia's mind, there was no way that Natsu Dragneel would not get involved.

_Whether he liked it, or not, the battle between the Dragon and the Pheonix was unavoidable_.

"Grayfia-chan~..."

Sirzechs' childish whining cut her off of her musings.

"Sirzechs-sama, how many times have I told you to not address me as such while I am _on duty_...?" Grayfia sighed in exasperation, before emphasizing the last two words in a warning tone.

"But, I 'm bored~... I don 't want to do any more paperwork~..."

Apparently, her husband didn 't get the message... for the uptienth time.

"Sirzechs-sama."

"Hm?"

***WHACK***

***CRASH***

"Owie~..."

"Get back to your paperwork."

"Y-Yes, m-ma'am..."

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Author's notes.**

**First of all, I owe you all an apology for not putting this chapter up on October, like I had promised.**

**As you see, I 'm back.**

**Thank you for your support, even though you knew I was away and still waited patiently for this story to continue.**

**Now that I 'm back in Athens, it 'll be as difficult as before to write and update this story.**

**As for this chapter... Again, no actual character development. Or even action, for that matter.**

**Unless Kuroka understanding Natsu and her feelings towards him pass as such...**

**Anyway.**

**For those of you that want Natsu to become a Devil, don 't get your hopes up. Nothing else about that.**

**Next chapter will be Natsu understanding Kuroka and her nature. No more spoilers about this either.**

**Read, review and enjoy your lives!**


	7. Chapter 6

**CHAPTER 6**

Natsu felt so, _so conflicted_.

He had, very recently in fact, killed just once.

His foster father's, the only one he could remember being his father, murderer.

Acnologia.

And for a good reason too.

The human, turned Dragon Slayer, turned Dragon just wanted to cause destruction wherever he set foot upon, as well as eradicating all Dragons and Dragon Slayers from Earthland.

So, the pinket, with the help of his friends, ended the self-proclaied -yet rightfully so- Dragon King.

His view on taking a life hadn 't changed even after the horrific war with Alvarez and Acnologia.

That said, he was dumbfounded from what he heard just moments ago.

His new friend, as small as her story was, it left him, as stated before, conflicted.

He wanted to bash her face in his fist. To start a rant about why taking a life, no matter what they had done, was wrong.

Yet, it seemed _so wrong_ to say that to Kuroka.

One, because she didn 't seem like a person that would take his word at heart.

Two. From what he heard, her master wouldn 't even listen to her and would go after her sister, regardless of all the warnings she had sent his way.

Three and most important. The guy had the gal to go after Kuroka's sister and do the same experiments on her, without her even being under his command. And she was a little kid to boot.

So... yeah. Natsu, somewhat, understood why Kuroka _had_ to _kill_ the guy. If he was in her shoes, he would, probably, act in the same way, in order to protect his own friends and family.

What he was against with, however, was the fact Kuroka had killed the other Peerage members as well. _Before_ she killed the master.

The-Nekoshou-turned-Devil told him that her fellow Peerage members had been way too far brainwashed by the master to actually listen to even a word she said. In her words, they even went so far as to try to talk her into their master's plans for Kuroka's sister.

The latter's name was Shirone, according to Kuroka, by the way.

With all that being the case, Natsu was left unable to react the usual way he did back in his world. Beat and talk some sence into whoever was in the wrong. As well as leave them _alive_ for whichever authority to take charge.

That said, he had _absolutely no idea_ how to handle this situation. His gut told him to just take it in stride, accept his friend -only friend in this world- for who and what she was and move forward to a better future.

_Together_.

Seeing his friend gazing at the sky with sad eyes and a matching smile, the pinket did the first thing that came naturally to him. Especially since her eyes shed silent tears.

Something that he had done multiple times for several of his friends back in his world.

He didn 't even need to register the fact that his body had made the move, even before his brain gave the command.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

Kuroka was in complete and utter _shock_.

From what she had gathered about her companion's character, she would have _never_ expected him to react the way he did.

A pair of strong, warm, yet really gentle arms had enveloped her upper body in a soft embrace. Her head was on top of his right shoulder, his left hand gently caressed the back of her head, his right one doing slow, soothing motions on her back.

The suddeness of what was happening, something she hoped would happen sometime in the future, made her blush furiously. His hot breath on the side of her neck didn 't help matters.

_At all_.

_'WHA~?!'_ she thought incredulously, her eyes wide and her blush deepening by the millisecond.

Her wild, as well as disarrayed, thoughts screeched to a halt as soon as she heard his voice.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

"You know..." Natsu started softly, feeling the way she stiffened in his embrace.

"I really don 't like that you... killed... the other members... or even your master... but... I understand why you did it." the pinket spoke honestly, inbetween pauses, still coming to terms that his _friend_ had killed. He felt her stiffen even more at his words. She didn 't relax at all at his declaration of understanding.

"In fact, I 'd do the same thin' if my friends were threatened in the way your lil' sis was." Natsu said softly, yet firmly, believing his own words to be true. They had the effect of making Kuroka relax a little bit in his arms. Continuing with his soothing motions, while also bringing her closer to him, the pinket continued speaking. "That said, I don 't wanna see ya, or even hear about ya killing. _Never again_." he finished strongly.

Kuroka's blush had subsided by now, leaving only a soft pink hue on her cheeks, due to their close proximity. That said, the hair on the back of her neck stood on edge at the unsubtle warning his last two words had in them.

"You 're my friend, Kuroka. And I don 't wanna change that." Natsu added softly, breaking the embrace a little in order to look at her in the eyes as he spoke with a small smile on his face.

Kuroka felt her eyes sting a little. She knew the feeling very well. She had felt the same the moment her sister had raised the alarm over the fact that she had killed everyone else in her Peerage.

She had felt the same the moment she had realised she had lost her sister.

Kuroka threw herself on Natsu's strong chest, making him yelp in surprise, the latter of which she didn 't care about.

The only thing she _did_ care, though, was to let out all the bottled up emotions from that day several months ago.

She was mildly aware that Natsu repeated his ministrations on her back and head, while she cried loudly on his bare chest.

She was, internally, glad that her pink (salmon, as he would argue) haired friend let her do so.

Both had lost track of time, for which they didn 't care about.

Also, they were so lost in their moment, that they hadn 't picked up another presence _very close_ to them.

What 's even worse, was that the presence was there _throughout their conversation_.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

Tiamat wanted to relax.

In-between the time from the meeting with the Four Great Satans and this day, Ajuka Beezlebub had her on duty for the Rating Games.

And there had been quite a few of them that she had almost jumped in to save the day for a poor bastard that had bitten more than they could chew.

Aside from that, the Satans -more specifically, Serafall Leviathan- had her attend the Council meetings, even if the elders demanded the exact opposite as soon as they led their eyes on her.

That said, Serafall was the one in charge of the foreign affairs for a reason. For a girl so small, aside from the chest department, she could give quite a mean bite if she wanted to. And that 's why the elders were forced to accept and even get used to Tiamat's presence in the meetings.

Anyway, the Chaos Karma Dragon(ness) needed some time to lay down and relax. Away from the Devils, their meetings, their pompus and arrogant attitudes... everything related to Devils, really.

So, she had come at her cave in the Familiar Forest, the only place she could call her home and actually mean it. Even if said cave housed two other people as well, with said people being; one, a widely known and wanted criminal and the other being her worst nightmare -and a strong one at that-, a Dragon Slayer.

Even if those two seemed quite friendly and easy people to get along with, Tiamat was sure that the Devil Council would give her almost all their treasure to eradicate the same people she allowed to live in her cave.

That is, if the Devils knew about them in the first place.

Tiamat was both thankfull and wary about that fact. The first because she didn 't want a confrontation with Natsu Dragneel; the guy needed one good hit and she would be out for the count.

As for the second, she knew how the Four Great Satans thought. For the better part, anyway. Meaning that, she was quite certain that they had come to the same conclusion as herself.

_The Dragon Slayer, Natsu Dragneel and the Nekoshou-turned-Devil and, now, SS Class Stray Devil, Kuroka, were more worth it to have as allies than enemies_.

There was a part of her that wanted to warn them, mainly Natsu, about the -probable- intentions of the Satans. As a Dragon herself, she was sure that the pinket would greatly oppose to listen to anyone, mainly because he was a male Dragon and those were more arrogant and prideful.

There was another part that wanted the both of them close to herself, for reasons that eluded her grasp as to why she even thought of that in the first place.

Anyhow, Tiamat had come back to her cave to relax and get some _much needed_ sleep. Maybe even get in on the teasing banter between her two guests, before falling into a coma.

However, she didn 't find them inside the cave, which only left her curious as to where they were. She knew they were strong, so she didn 't have to worry about them.

Eliminating her presence and scent, completely, she used her nose and speed to find them.

They were quite close to the cave, but didn 't seem to notice her.

That was good. If this Natsu had the same, or -worse- _better_ senses than her own, she would have to jump away from a startled and angry Dragon Slayer.

What she stumbled upon, however, threw her for a loop.

She spent an unknown amount of hours to listen to their life stories.

She was trully and uttelry _shocked_ and _dumbfounded_.

Well, who could blame her for that...?

The pinket was _from another freakin' world_.

His life story was confusing. He was born a human, died as a human, resurrected by his older brother as some kind of Demon by the name of E.N.D., was left in the care of a friend of his brother -the Fire Dragon King, Igneel-, learned Dragon Slayer magic under Igneel, went to the future along four other children to become strong enough to end Acnologia, joined a Guild called Fairy Tail and saw every single wizard there as his family, fought and won many battles against the odds for himself and, after essentially killing Acnologia in another dimension, he ended up in the Familiar Forest.

Well, that was a small summary of his story. The details were more confusing than the actual summary. Details that she heard, even if a little overexaggerated, and left her dumbfounded.

Even worse, was the fact that she could _feel_ his power from where she was hiding.

Natsu Dragneel was _stronger_ than _her_.

_Even in his base form_.

Because, from what she had heard, the other modes, as he called them, were easily _twice_, or _more_, as strong.

As for Kuroka, there was only one thing she didn 't know about the incident. The fact that the Nekoshou's sister was the one ringing the alarm, threw her for a loop as well.

The report the Four Great Satans and herself had read said _otherwise_. That some maid was the one to raise the alarm, after she saw her master's dead body.

Forget relaxing.

These two were a handful and caused trouble without them even meaning to.

With an inward sigh, she went back to the cave, where she allowed herself to relax, but not reveal her presence.

This time, she allowed herself to sigh aloud, knowing that neither of the other two would hear her.

And, so, she closed her eyes and formed a teleportation circle to Ajuka Beezlebub's office.

She _really _hoped that the next few hours wouldn 't cause her more of a headache than the one she had at the moment.

Otherwise, she would show Natsu Dragneel what an angry Dragonness could do, just like she had done to so many hosts of Ddraig, the Red Dragon Emperor and one of the two Heavenly Dragons.

With an angry huff at the thought of Ddraig, she disappeared in a light blue magic circle.

Leaving a confused Kuroka and lightly shivering Natsu looking around wildly muttering about an angry Erza having come for his head.

The Nekoshou, this time, cried from laughter at the expense of her childishly pouting _friend-to-be-boyfriend-sometime-in-the-future_.

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Author's notes.**

**I bet that nobody expected a chapter up not even two days after the previous one got up.**

**Believe me, I don 't think something like that will be repeated in the future.**

**Hopefully, though, you liked both chapters.**

**Especially since Kuroka's feelings about Natsu seem a little rashed. They 're not. For those of you who are familiar with the DxD world, you 'll understand why they are not. That said, she holds herself back for various reasons, with one of them being her own age and maturity. Nothing more about that.**

**As for Natsu, he understands Kuroka's actions and **_**that 's it**_**. He doesn 't get the whole killing thing. He didn 't grow up that way.**

**Anyhow, he 'll mature over that as well, whether he likes it or not.**

**On another note, I think of killing Issei, cause I don 't like him, but I don 't know what to do about Ddraig. I, sincerely, want your opinions in this matter in your reviews or PMs.**

**Again, I **_**trully and utterly thank you from the bottom of my heart**_**.**

**Your support in this story keeps me going!**

**Read, review/PM and have fun!**


	8. Chapter 7

**CHAPTER 7**

**Author's note:**

**From the bottom of my heart, I wish you all a happy and healthy new year!**

**I hope you had a great Christmas holliday, as well!**

**I love you all for the reviews on this story! Even if it's difficult for me to find time to write a chapter, I try to do it in order to keep you satisfied -at the very least-!**

**On a sidenote, I've taken into consideration all opinions as to what to do about Issei Hyoudou. All I'll tell you is that it's a surprise for when the time comes for Issei to appear in the story.**

**Which, by the way, may be 2-3, maybe more chapters away, not including this one. Depends on how the chapters develop on all accounts.**

**Without further ado, enjoy!**

Ajuka Beezlebub was curious as to why he was receiving an alarm from his office, when he had left said area not even ten minutes ago, in order to have a small dinner and, then, fall in Morpheus' arms, as Greeks like to say.

Whoever wanted to have a meeting at this ungodly hour, was extremelly lucky that the Maou hadn't started on his dinner yet.

That said, if it was something unimportant, there would be... _consequences_... for the intruder of his peace.

With a soft, yet irritated sigh, the Super Devil opened the one of the double doors of his office.

His eyes couldn't contain the surprise he felt upon the sight of a visibly stressed Tiamat, tapping her bare foot impatiently on the floor.

He, also, noted that the Chaos Karma Dragon(ness) didn't turn around to face him.

Instead, he bypassed her in order to have a seat on his extremelly comfortable chair, where he had spent unlimited amount of hours to do his -ugh- paperwork.

Only when he was situated, did Tiamat pay her attention to him.

Before he could address her, she spoke in an urgent, yet firm tone. "You need to call the other three Maou. Now."

Raising a sceptical eyebrow, he asked in a matching tone. "Is it necessary?"

"Yes." the immediate and strong answer caught him a little off guard, but he didn't show any sign of that fact. Nor did he question Tiamat's motives behind her request -demand-.

So, with a shrug of his shoulders, Ajuka created a green magic circle, sending the message to the other three with, only, his thought.

The Maou watched as Tiamat's impatience got worse as time passed and there was no sign of his colleagues in his office. Him, on the other hand, was as patient as ever, watching in silent amusement as the Dragonness was ready to throw a tantrum.

On second thought, that was a good reason to have him concerned. And, if it was such a bad situation to have _the strongest of the Dragon Kings_ on edge, then it _had_ to be _important_.

Thankfully, it took his colleagues less than 20 minutes to show up. With the addition of Grayfia, as was the usual on meetings between the Four Great Maou.

"You're all late." Tiamat, immediately, deadpanned, making Sirzechs' Queen and wife express her irritation at the Dragoness' antics through her eyes alone.

Sirzechs smiled lightheartedly, hiding the sweatdrop he had on the back of his head. Falbium just yawned and went to situate himself on one of the three couches in Ajuka's office.

As for the last member of this meeting, Serafall, she pouted childishly and was about to throw a tantrum herself. However, she held her tongue -barely-, because Ajuka was quite clear that _Tiamat has something important to say and she's, barely, containing herself. Come quickly, like, right now. And Serafall, don 't be your usual, childish self. I want to go to sleep as soon as I can_.

So, yeah. Nobody wanted to irritate Ajuka more than he already was.

"Please, Tiamat. Tell us the reason you had Ajuka to call us here." Sirzechs said placatingly as he sat on another couch, with Grayfia standing right behind him.

His tone and calm smile had the effect of dropping the tension to almost zero.

With a soft sigh as a start, Tiamat spoke. "What I'm about to tell you, has to do with the two tenants of my cave at the Familiar Forest." she said slowly as she looked around to gauge reactions.

It was as she expected. Their facial expressions hardened quite significantly, knowing that those two were cause for attention. _Theirs_ to be exact.

"Just before I came here, I went to my cave to have some rest." the Dragoness started her 'tale' and continued in a soft tone. "I didn't see the two residents I had left behind in there, so I went to find them."

She closed her eyes for a moment, remembering their entire conversation in a flash, before reopening them and started to narate the exact same things that she had heard from them.

Shocked and dumbfounded couldn't even begin to describe how the Satans and Grayfia felt, with the latter having the best control at expressing her feelings on what she heard.

Once Tiamat had finished her monologue, everyone -including herself- wore sceptical expressions on their faces.

Even Falbium was seen wide awake and contemplative.

"So..." Sirzechs broke the silence first in a, rarely shown, unsure tone, bringing the attention to himself. "It seems that this Natsu Dragneel is, indeed, a Dragon Slayer, as you suspected." he addressed Tiamat as he said that.

Said Dragoness nodded in confirmation. Her face a mask of absolute seriousness.

By the way, all six people wore the same expression.

"And" Sirzechs continued in a firmer tone "he's from another universe altogether."

Another nod.

"And, from what you felt, he's stronger than you in his base form. With his other modes making him considerably stronger."

Another nod.

"And Kuroka's sister, the one I had to intervene personally to add in Rias' Peerage in order to be left alive, was the one to raise the alarm on Kuroka's actions against her old Peerage."

Another nod.

This time, Sirzechs sighed heavily and used his right hand to massage his temple, drawing his wife's concerned gaze.

Seeing her friend and colleague in a small pinch, Serafall took the lead. "Everyone in this room will agree that, what you told us, was way more serious than we anticipated." she said seriously, getting nods of agreement all around her. "However, I don't get _why_ you wanted us to know all this in the first place." she added even more seriously, albeit her curiosity was transparent as well.

"I don't know." Tiamat answered honestly with a helpless shrug of her shoulders. "It was a spontaneous decision on my part, but, in the end, I think that I made the right one to tell you." she added.

"Indeed." Falbium interjected firmly, getting everyone's attention. "Had you told anyone else, especially the Council, those two would be public enemy number one."

"And" Ajuka continued "the Devils as a whole would have lost two great allies."

"Figures you'd want them as allies." Tiamat sighed tiredly with her eyes closed. She didn't see the questioning gazes all around as to what she meant by her statement. "So, how doy you think they should be approached?" only when she asked this in genuine curiosity did she open her eyes again. "Especially since they both know that Devils want Kuroka dead for her deeds. Besides..." she snorted in untamed amusement. "Didn't I tel you that Natsu Dragneel has the mannerisms of a Dragon to T?"

"Who said that we would send someone?" Sirzechs asked, being amused himself. Upon receiving questioning gazes, he spoke again. "We will go and speak to them ourselves, with the Council being none the wiser." he said confidently, getting an incredulous look from Tiamat and contemplative ones from the others.

"Not a bad idea." Ajuka agreed. "And if Tiamat is with us, then we increase our chances to have a civil conversation." he added intelligently.

The _'not you too'_ look from the Dragonness was completely ignored, making her hang her head in dejection and defeat.

"Perfect!" Sirzechs clapped his hands in satisfaction, while also signaling the end of this meeting. He got up from the couch, making everyone mimic him, with Falbium groaning in discomfort that he lost his comfortable position. "We get to sleep three hours. We do whatever we have to do in an hour and, then, we meet at my office in order to go and have a chat with the two unintentional troublemakers." he announced almost jovially.

There were nods of agreement all around him, albeit Tiamat did so reluctantly.

Not a moment later, Ajuka was alone in his office again. Sighing, he went to have some rest, before the meeting with a Dragon Slayer and a perfectly sane SS-Class Stray Devil.

Honestly, the possibility of the meeting going south scared him more than what Tiamat showed after Sirzechs' declaration.

That said, they would have a 'weapon' that the other two didn't.

In short, Serafall would be the key for this meeting to stay civil.

If not...

He didn't want to think about the alternative...

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

Back with the two 'unintentional troublemakers'.

Natsu and Kuroka had tried to have some rest after the emotional conversation between them.

They didn't know how or why, but they had been sneezing for about two hours, 20 minutes after they had finished talking and calming down.

After that was done, however, the hammock that Natsu had built made the perfect bed.

The sleeping duo, though, could tell -right before they slept- that something wasn't right and that the next day would be... difficult.

Internally, Kuroka hoped that her companion wouldn't go on a rampage and destroy the Forest.

Why did she believe that?

Call it a gut feeling...

As for the pinket, he felt restless. Even as he was snoring loudly, his face betrayed his unease.

He dearly hoped that there wouldn't come someone to destroy his peace with Kuroka...

**xXxLine BreakxXx**

**Author's note:**

**Things are about to heat up in the next chapter.**

**Read, review, PM.**

**Again, have a good and healthy year, everyone!**


	9. Chapter 8

**CHAPTER 8**

Two pairs of eyes snapped open in full alert.

Natsu and Kuroka didn't enjoy their sleep, 'cause of some feeling that, this day, would suck.

Their alertness was completely justified, though.

If Tiamat's scent and presence wasn't with other five people, strong Devils at that, Natsu would have gone ballistic the moment he sensed them.

As for Kuroka, she would have pleaded her case to get the fuck out of there, even if she just _knew _that Natsu wouldn't listen.

That said, it was a plus that they appeared some distance away from the cave the duo resided in.

The pinket sprang to his feet and, in less than two seconds, he was at the cave's entrance/exit. Thanks to his nose, his eyes quickly found the six people coming their way with slow, deliberate steps, so as to not agitate him and Kuroka. His eyes narrowed dangerously as he felt their compressed power within themselves. If they were here looking for a fight, he wasn't sure he could make it out alive, much less if he had to protect his scared friend beside him.

The Nekoshou wasn't far behind him. Though, she did take her time to follow him, since Natsu was the brawns. Her Senjutsu abilities helped her find Tiamat and her companions quicker than Natsu's nose. Upon noticing who these people were with Tiamat, her eyes widened in a mixture of shock, disbelief, fear and nervousness.

Speaking of those six, Tiamat was leading the 'pack' of six. Her expression was blank, hiding her nervousness about the whole thing and her fear of the pinket's reaction if things went south.

Right behind her was Sirzechs, with Grayfia on his left. Behind them were, from left to right, Falbium, Serafall and, finally, Ajuka.

As soon as one side was in hearing distance from the other, the building tension upped tenfold.

"If you're here to take Kuroka from me, turn around and leave. Otherwise, I'm gonna kick your asses, Devils." Natsu threatened in a cold tone with matching narrowed eyes and clenched fists. His eyes were locked with the one he felt that was the strongest of the group, the crimson haired Devil.

His claim had Kuroka wanting to bash his head for being ridiculous, as well as fighting off a blush for his protectiveness.

Neither Tiamat, nor the Devils were surprised by his attitude. In fact, the Devils were pleased to know that a human being, no matter where he came from and his powers, was protecting a Supernatural being. That said, Kuroka's situation was a little questionable, but it was a good thing she had a strong friend protecting her.

In the awful game called politics, everyone needed a good friend. On the Devils' side was Serafall. In Tiamat's case was her power and her species.

Sirzechs gave a small, non-threatening smile and raised his hands in surrender. "There's no need for violence. We came here in peace and to have a talk." he spoke calmly, wanting to difuse the still building tension.

Natsu, still apprehensive, locked gazes with Tiamat. Said Dragon shook her head lightly at his silent question and, only then, did he relax a little. His hands were slightly limb by his sides and his entire posture didn't scream 'ready for battle'.

The pinket took a moment to memorise their scents. To his mild curiousity and great annoyance, the two Devil women had an icy feeling in their scents. The crimson haired Devil had the dinstictive scent of a war-ruined city. The green haired one smelt like a laboratory full of chemicals and the bald one had the scent of... just a Devil, much to his curiousity. The others had their scents mixed with the unique scent of a Devil.

Again, the pinket locked gazes with the strongest person there. "What about?" he asked a lot more calmer than he would have liked to sound. Despite that, however, he wanted to get straight to the point.

Upon hearing his tone, even Kuroka relaxed a lot more, considering whom herself and her companion were facing.

That said, she didn't want the Familiar Forest to get destroyed, in case this meeting took a bad turn. So, she released a special mist, which turned their location in an alternate dimension. And, even though it was poisonous, she knew that noone would be affected, since everybody else was stronger than her.

It was for that reason that the Devils didn't react negatively. Or even at all, for that matter.

As for Natsu, he just glanced around confused, for a moment, before refocusing on the crimson haired Devil.

"Would you like to know our names first?" Sirzechs asked kindly, in a gesture to have a civilised conversation.

"No." Natsu deadpanned, making everyone worry for a moment. "You're Male Erza, 'cause of your hair. Baldy, Ice-maid, Greeny and Ice-queen." with each name, he changed his gaze to each person there.

In order. Male Erza= Sirzechs, Baldy= Falbium, Ice-maid= Grayfia, Greeny= Ajuka and Ice-queen= Serafall.

Que for a collective sweatdrop, including Kuroka. Said Nekoshou held back a throaty groan at her companion's antics.

At least, Natsu had, completely, dissolved the suddenly built up tension upon his rejection at learning their names.

That said, it seemed that, even if they told him their names, he wouldn't remember them the next second.

'Male Erza', however, made a last ditch effort. "My name is Sirzechs Lucifer, though..." he said in a mixture of disappointment and mirth. He didn't want to be recognised as another version of Natsu's female friends from the pinket's world.

Natsu tilted his head for a moment with a thoughtfull look, eyeing the crimson haired Devil intensely.

If the circumstances were different, the gesture would have been considered 'cute' by almost everyone there, aside from Natsu himself, Ajuka and Falbium. The latter was, secretely, apalled that he would be remembered only as 'Baldy'. As for Ajuka, he was amused by his 'nickname'.

As for the Devil women, they thought that their 'nicknames' were fitting. However, Grayfia didn't like hers, as she always was one to demand and give the proper respect. Serafall, though, _absolutely adored _hers, even if she held back several squeals and even more childish antics that would have put Natsu's ones to shame.

"Sifer, then." Natsu, suddenly muttered. "No no no. Zechs sounds better." he said louder and more confidently with a nod of approval to himself, holding back a toothy grin for his 'inspiration'.

There was a beat. In that timeline, several things happened. No, only two.

Aside from Natsu and Sirzechs, everyone else held back their uncontrollable laughter. The cause for that was the pinket's mutter of 'Sifer'. Since they were well acquainted with the Human World, they knew about Claudia Schiffer. Even if mispronounced, Sirzechs was just a moment from being remembered as a male version for another woman, again, despite Natsu not knowing that fact. As for the aforementioned Devil, he _almost_ sighed in relief. If 'Sifer' was a thing, noone from his close circle would let him live it down.

"Zechs sounds _much better_, Natsu-kun!" Sirzechs exclaimed with a charming smile, holding back some smugness at his 'cool nickname'. The emphasis on the words 'much better' was lost to the pinket, but not the rest. He didn't care about that either. He openly liked what he was called and would rub it in at the others, should they try to make fun of him.

Natsu and Kuroka blinked twice at the Devil's antics. Neither of them were surprised that Sirzechs knew the pinket's name, considering that Tiamat was with them.

Grayfia merely sighed disappointed at both the pinket and her husband/King.

The Nekoshou, then, turned to face her companion, who, upon feeling her gaze, faced her as well. She decided to explain 'who was who' to the pinket, in order for him to understand whom they were facing. In the only way he would understand. Using the same names as her friend. "Na-chin, these people are the five strongest Devils in the Underworld. Aside from Tiamat and Ice-maid, Zechs, Ice-queen, Baldy and Greeny are the Four Devil Kings, who rule the Underworld." she, purposefully didn't use her usual teasing tone. She didn't want to become a memory.

It was too early for that. Plus, she hadn't put a claim on her soon-to-be-boyfriend yet. Her dream to recreate her race and to reconcile with her sister had yet to become reality. She had too much to do, before she poked some fun over the strongest Devils, using Natsu's antics as a fuel.

Natsu just blinked at the information. He didn't care who these people were. He just wanted his friend to be safe. "I don't care." he said simply and a little apathetically.

While Kuroka merely sighed in defeat, the Devils were a little offended at his claim.

"They, still, haven't told us what they're doing here." some tension returned at Natsu's casual mention of their visit.

"Well," Sirzechs started calmly, bringing the attention to himself. "mere hours ago, Tiamat called us to have a meeting, in order to tell us about you two." he started his explanation about their visit. "She, also, told us two stories, which, mind you, were quite unbelievable." he said meaningfully.

Natsu narrowed his eyes upon hearing that. His friend mimicked him, but he was first to speak. "What stories." he demanded.

Tiamat tensed at his demeanor. If the Devils couldn't handle the situation with an agitated Dragon Slayer, she was ready to bolt out of there. She didn't want to get seriously hurt, or, worse, dead.

"From what she told us," Sirzechs spoke as he stepped forward, right beside the shorter Dragon Queen, placing a comforting hand on her shoulder. He sensed the pinket's agitation and acted on that. "she kept herself concealed and wanted to surprise you two with her visit." he lied easily, but his words were believable. Politics were, indeed, dangerous. In more ways than one. "However, when she was close to you two, she heard both Natsu-kun's and Kuroka's stories." he revealed calmly.

Natsu seemed more annoyed than angry upon hearing that. His eyes found Tiamat's. "There's a thing called privacy, you know." he grumbled.

"Sorry." Tiamat apologised blankly, hiding all kinds of emotions at the moment.

"It's fine." Natsu sighed lightly, relaxing some more. "You coulda said that ya were there. I wouldn't mind telling ya my story." he said calmly.

_"I would..."_ Kuroka thought annoyed about the whole situation. She didn't trust anyone besides Natsu. She kept her feelings about the whole matter behind an annoyed glare at the Dragon Queen.

"That said, you shouldn't have told anyone else, without asking me and Kuroka." Natsu returned to being mildly annoyed with a matching glare at Tiamat.

_"Yeah! You tell her, Na-chin!" _Kuroka cheered him on, inwardly, keeping her outward annoyed facade.

"Regardless." Sirzechs put a stop to the small banter in a slightly stronger tone, bringing the attention back to himself. "The point is that me and my colleagues want to talk to you two. In peace. And, if possible, over some tea at my office, instead of here." he proposed calmly.

Natsu and Kuroka faced each other and had a silent conversation with their eyes.

The pinket wanted to keep his friend safe. The brunette wanted to be with her friend-soon-to-be-boyfriend and, sometime in the future, find her sister and tell her what _really_ happened _that_ night.

A few more seconds passed, which brought back some tension to the Devils and Tiamat.

It increased tenfold when the duo turned to face them, wearing matching serious expressions on their faces.

When Natsu spoke next, the tension died a _brutal_ death.

Kuroka facepalmed so hard, that it had an echo all around the space she had created. She didn't even hold back her groan, which had the same effect.

Tiamat and the Devils, collectively, had a massive sweatdrop at the back of their heads. Tiamat and Grayfia matched each other's movements to a 'T'. They, both, sighed loudly in annoyance and rubbed the bridge of their noses.

Natsu had that effect on people all around him when he was both absolutely serious and utterly stupid at the same time.

Not that he knew, of course. Being dense as a rock should have been a serious crime in all worlds.

"Will there be some food?"

**xXxLineBreakxXx**

**Author's notes.**

**This chapter has been ready since the 27th of March, but I couldn't upload it due to me not being able to use wi-fi where I live.**

**Thankfully, my aunt was kind enough to let me inside her home and do whatever I wanted with my Laptop.**

**I won't comment anything on the chapter; it's your job.**

**However, I would like to point out something.**

**FROM THIS POINT ON, THIS STORY IS DISCONTINUED BY ME. WHOEVER IS WILLING TO ADOPT IT, PLEASE SEND ME A PRIVATE MESSAGE.**

**After so much time -a little more than a year-, I lost my inspiration on this one and I prefer to see it prosper in the hands of someone capable.**

**I have, however, started working on a DxD story, featuring an extremelly OP Issei Hyoudou. Whoever likes this kind of stuff, have a look at the prologue. Though, to be honest, I don't find it eye-catching myself. It's called 'An all powerfull Issei Hyoudou' and the prologue isn't something special.**

**Anyway. On more serious matters.**

**For 45 days, I won't go back to work, due to the whole coronavirus situation. Here in Greece, we're way better than other countries.**

**And, to those countries -USA, ITALY, FRANCE, SPAIN AND GERMANY-, I send my sincerest wishes for things to get better and for your beloved people, that may me in a hospital, to come back home to you safe and sound.**

**Be safe and healthy, you guys/girls.**


	10. ADOPTION

**IMPORTANT ANNOUNCEMENT**

As of last week, a person messaged me about adopting this story.

This person is Static Tacos.

Through our small conversation and subsequent agreement, Static Tacos is to continue the story from where I left off.

Meaning that their first chapter will, actually, be chapter nine (9). Or ten (10), if we include the Prologue.

Or, if they so decide, they will re-post all the chapters from the beginning and, then, continue from there.

I give them my sincerest gratitude for adopting this story. I had high hopes for it when I had started it, but had no time to write and, eventually, completely lost inspiration.

Also, special thanks for all of you that favourited and followed the story!

It melt my heart to know that a less than average writter like myself had so much support from all of you!

Again, thank you, from the very bottom of my heart!

From now on, all credit for this story will go to Static Tacos!

And, since I want to see this story reaching a new height, I allow Static Tacos to even re-write the story from the beginning, if they so wish!

Stay safe and stay healthy, guys and girls!


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